In this edition of Eirmersive’s Case Study Corner, Camille Donegan speaks with Niall Campion of VRAI about the growing role of data in simulation-based training, and why organisations adopting XR should be thinking about data capture from the very beginning.

VRAI began around ten years ago as a VR training company, initially focused on hazardous, remote and rarely encountered environments. Over time, the team recognised that VR headsets offered something potentially just as valuable as the immersive experience itself: rich contextual information about how a learner behaves during training.

Head tracking, eye tracking and other performance data could provide instructors with a much deeper understanding of what trainees were doing during a simulation and, importantly, help them understand why certain decisions were being made.

That insight ultimately led to HEAT,…

By Camille Donegan, CEO at Eirmersive

Last week's discussion on 'Building Irelands CreaTech Sector' left me feeling optimistic.

Thanks to Laura Magahy from Forvis Mazars In Ireland for welcoming everyone and setting the scene.

It was a pleasure to share the stage with Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, Drew Banerjee MD of EGG Post Production and VFX, expertly moderated by Rónán Ó Muirthile of Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, as we explored how creativity, technology and innovation can drive Ireland's next wave of growth.

The opportunity is clear. Irish creative technology companies are already delivering world-class work across sectors ranging from healthcare and advanced manufacturing to tourism, culture and education both nationally and internationally.

What began as an international business connection has evolved into a real-world demonstration of how immersive technologies can transform one of the world's most highly regulated manufacturing sectors.

Through the European-funded XR2INDUSTRY programme, Irish immersive technology company XR Ireland and Latvian pharmaceutical manufacturer PharmIdea Latvia have embarked on a pioneering collaboration exploring the role of augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) and embedded artificial intelligence in sterile pharmaceutical production.

The initiative is about more than technology alone. It represents a growing partnership between Ireland and Latvia, bringing together expertise in advanced manufacturing, pharmaceutical production and immersive technologies to address some of the industry's most persistent challenges.

Last week was one of those weeks that reminds what a privilege it is to be representing Ireland's immersive and creative industry ecosystems in important conversations at both an All-Ireland and European level.

I started in Brussels at Creative Skills Week 2026, where it was fantastic to see Ireland so well represented through the work of Creative Futures Academy and CCIS Skillnet. Congratulations to all of the Irish voices who gave insightful contributions to discussions on creative skills, creative confidence, ecosystem development and how culture and creativity can help Europe navigate complex social, economic and technological change. The event brought together policymakers, educators, industry leaders and creatives from across Europe to explore how creative skills can drive innovation far beyond the cultural and creative sectors.

Animotive has had an enormous response to the launch of Kimodo.

“Over 7,000 animations. 1.3 million frames. Almost 700 minutes of animation generated on our cloud servers, all from real usage.”

Animotive Kimodo turns a pose and a prompt into usable animation data inside Unreal Engine. It’s built to speed up the animator's workflow rather than replace it. These numbers are from developers and studios putting it to work daily on Cinematics, NPC animation, In-betweening and Prototyping.

As the company explains, “Every animation pipeline has the same bottleneck: getting from nothing to a first pass. With Animotive Kimodo, that first pass takes as long as it takes to type a sentence. Prompt a movement, pin your character's position or pose at key moments to guide the result, and the animation lands retargeted onto…

We're delighted to see Dr Zeta Dooly, a member of Eirmersive through SETU, begin her TU RISE research sabbatical focused on exploring how emerging technologies can support teaching, learning and educational policy.

As Zeta shares:

"Over the next year I'll be working closely with the Department of Education and Youth, Ard Scoil na Mara and Fenor National School, exploring how VR and AI can be adopted in primary and post-primary classrooms in ways that are inclusive, evidence-based, and genuinely useful for teachers and learners."

This important work will examine how immersive technologies and AI can be integrated into education in a way that is practical, responsible and aligned with the needs of educators and students. The programme aims to create a roadmap that connects research, policy and classroom practice, while…

Eirmersive member Grace Dinan, Founder of JunieXR, has received international recognition for her innovative accessibility technology following a successful journey through the 2026 Creative Business Cup competition.

In August, JunieXR was named the national winner of Creative Business Cup Ireland 2026, securing the opportunity to represent Ireland at the prestigious Creative Business Cup Global Finals in Copenhagen. The achievement marked a significant milestone for the company and highlighted the growing impact of Irish innovation in the creative technology sector.

The judging panel selected JunieXR for its pioneering solution, JunieStream, a platform that brings sign language interpretation, adaptive captions and interactive accessibility features directly into streaming and video-on-demand services. By embedding accessibility tools…

Eirmersive member Virtual Museum of Art (VMA) is continuing to demonstrate the transformative potential of immersive technologies through a series of projects spanning artistic exhibition, international knowledge exchange and cross-border creative collaboration.

The journey began with FUTUROPIA, a groundbreaking virtual exhibition launched for Culture Night Ireland 2023. Showcasing the work of 21 Irish artists based both in Ireland and around the world, the exhibition explored the intersection of art and technology, presenting audiences with innovative and thought-provoking creative experiences in virtual space.

Reflecting on the project's impact, VMA described how "FUTUROPIA has travelled to numerous events, celebrating and promoting the work of Irish artists to audiences across Ireland and Europe."